Kenya mourns vendor killed in protests, as calls grow for Ruto to quit

Police shooting of Boniface Kariuki last month sparks mass grief and anger over state-sanctioned police brutality.

Hundreds of mourners have attended the funeral of a Kenyan mask vendor killed by police, as opposition leaders demanded the resignation of President William Ruto over comments he made sanctioning the use of violence in recent protests.

The funeral of 22-year-old Boniface Kariuki, shot at point-blank range by an officer in riot gear during a rally against police brutality on June 17, took place Friday in his hometown of Kangema, some 100km (60 miles) northeast of Nairobi.

Kariuki, who died later in hospital, was selling masks at the rally. He is one of more than 100 people who have been killed across Kenya since last year, as police crack down on waves of protests. The demonstrations were initially sparked by proposed tax rises in 2024, but they reignited last month after the death of blogger Albert Ojwang in police custody.

The shooting of Kariuki was captured on film and shared widely across social media, highlighting police brutality in the country and galvanising anger towards a government many Kenyans see as corrupt and unaccountable.

“We are in sorrow,” said Edwin Kagia, 24, Kariuki’s friend and fellow vendor. “I used to hear that police kill people, but I could not imagine it would happen to my brother.”

Reporting from Kakuma in northern Kenya, Al Jazeera’s Catherine Soi said: “People are very angry about what is happening in Kenya. There’s a lot of impunity. They say there’s bad governance and police brutality is just on another level.”

Young Kenyans chant anti-government slogans as they carry the coffin of Boniface Kariuki during his funeral in Kangema, on July 11, 2025 [Luis Tato/ AFP]

President under pressure

Amid the grief over the vendor’s death, President Ruto came under increasing pressure to step down, two days after he called for police to shoot and “break the legs” of people found looting or damaging property during protests.

Opposition figure Kalonzo Musyoka said the president’s order was “against the constitution” and that he should “resign or be impeached”.

Human rights groups have called for restraint among police, as it emerged that more than 50 people were killed in two major demonstrations this year, according to the state-funded Kenya National Commission on Human Rights.

Al Jazeera’s Soi said there had also been a “spate of abductions”.

“Kenyans are quite angry … because police officers are here to help Kenyans and to protect Kenyans, but that is not happening,” she said.

Four police officers are currently facing murder charges over the recent deaths of protesters.

Three officers were last month charged with the death of blogger Ojwang after a postmortem report stated that his injuries were not self-inflicted, as alleged by police.

On Thursday, an officer was charged with Kariuki’s murder. A plea hearing for the officer is set for July 28.

Several mothers of the young people who have been killed in protests since last year were present at the vendor’s burial.

Meanwhile, Kenya swore in a group of top electoral officials on Friday, hours after their approval by Ruto, following months of legal wrangling.

The appointment of a new chairman and six commissioners to the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission fills essential positions that had long been left vacant in a country with a long history of contentious and often violent elections.

The appointments were delayed by legal petitions from activists questioning the “qualifications, integrity, relevance and meritocracy of the candidates”, according to the High Court ruling that dismissed their case. The appointees will serve for six years.

Source:

Al Jazeera and news agencies